


Fragments of Time

by sbuggbot



Category: SteamWorld Quest (Video Game)
Genre: Author is A-spec and doesn't know how to write love stories, Collection of fic scraps, F/M, I have one ship and it's this one, I wanna develop my OC darn it, Pre-Canon, tags to be updated...probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 08:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30001842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sbuggbot/pseuds/sbuggbot
Summary: "I'll just keep playin' backThese fragments of time,Everywhere I go,These moments will shine"The writing equivalent of a sketchbook, containing disjointed little scenes about Orik and Umeko.
Relationships: Orik (SteamWorld)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 2





	1. oh no that's awkward

**Author's Note:**

> SOOOO over the year or so I've had Umeko, I've slowly accumulated a sizable pile of small snippets of incidents involving her in varying stages of completion. Most of them aren't part of a big enough thing for me to post but I've shared a lot of them in the past in some form or another. (Mostly as screenshots on my Tumblr... where they got buried forever.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first little bit is a stupid incident I imagined happening one time before Orik had managed to confess his feelings. (which, that moment is one I plan to share eventually)
> 
> He's a mess

Orik wasn't much of a rambler, but evidently the stars had aligned and Gilgamech bumped the right switch because here he was, listening to Orik talk eagerly as they sat across from each other at a small table.

He was talking about Umeko, one of the other heroes in the Temperance, and fondly. She was an archer, probably one of the best there was here, and she worked well with Orik in the past. They'd become friends pretty quickly. He talked about her strengths, how cool she was and what he liked about her. It had bordered on gushing for quite a while now with how much admiration was behind his words. There was a rumor in the Temperance--hardly a secret, really, that he had developed feelings for her. He was just too shy to tell her. 

In the midst of his talking, he had yet to realize Umeko had walked over and was currently standing right behind him.

Gilgamech decided not to say anything when she first walked over and waited to see how long it would take for Orik to notice. Umeko must've had a similar idea, since she simply remained quiet with a small smile on her face, watching the way he talked about her when she wasn't around (or thought she wasn't around).

"-And… yeah," he finished, finally pausing to take a drink from his forgotten tea.

Beaming, Umeko finally spoke up. "Hi, Orik."

The effect was immediate. Orik was unfortunate enough that he happened to be in the middle of drinking when he realized Umeko was behind him. He inhaled part of his drink, choked, and reflexively spat the rest all over himself trying to cough. Gilgamech burst out laughing. "Umeko-!" Orik tried to exclaim, but it was quickly drowned out by his own coughing. How long had she been standing there?!

"Oh, goodness!" she exclaimed while laughing, stepping aside when some of the tea sprayed out of the pipe on his back. "I didn't mean to startle you that much, I'm sorry!"

Fairly certain that drink going into his pipe like that from choking was physically impossible, Orik hastily pushed himself up, still coughing. "I'm. I need to leave," he choked out over his burning throat. He had no idea how else to salvage this situation. Humiliated, he ran off, still trying to regain his breath and his composure.

"I didn't think he'd react like  _ that _ ," Gilgamech said after several seconds, looking in the direction Orik had run off in. 

"Me neither," Umeko said through baffled giggles. She was well aware of the rumors and this had all but confirmed it… "I just wanted to visit him, not scare him half to death."


	2. I'm finding I'm in love with you~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, writing romance is *hard*. Especially when 1) you're a demiromantic ace, 2) you've never written something about a romantic relationship before, and 3) at least one of the characters involved is acting OOC from being nervous

There was a dock on the lake that Orik liked sitting at. It was a little out of the way--you had to go past where the path turned and it was hidden by reeds. He was pretty sure the only other regular visitors it got were fishers, and that wasn't often from what he saw. He liked to sit on the edge and look out at the water. It was calm and quiet here, a good place to unwind after a busy day. He'd spent many evenings here.

He didn't get visitors often; maybe it was too hidden and people just didn't think to look there. So when he _did_ hear and feel someone walking over, it caught his attention pretty quickly.

Looking over, he saw it was Umeko. She probably _was_ the most likely of Orik's social circle to come and sit with him. He gave her a shy wave.

"Hi," she said. "Is it ok if I come sit with you?"

"Um. Yes, go ahead. I don't think it's a private dock or anything."

Umeko sat down, a little distance from him so he didn't feel crowded. "I know, but it's kinda your space and quiet time around now. I didn't want to scare you half to death… again…" 

Orik ducked a little behind his collar at the memory. "Oh, that…" He was wondering how they were going to talk about that...

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think I heard very much of it." 

"I wasn't saying anything bad about you, I promise."

"I think I figured that much," she said. "But still, I'm sorry I startled you."

"It's alright," he said. He was still trying to hide in his collar, though. It vaguely reminded Umeko of a turtle.

They returned to looking out at the lake, just quietly sitting together in each other's company. It was nice, even if Orik found himself increasingly nervous sitting near Umeko. It was silly, they'd known each other for a couple years and had been friends for the majority of that time. Him not being able to control his feelings around her was recent. 

His nerves didn't go unnoticed. "Are you ok?" Umeko asked.

"Huh?"

"You've been acting kinda weird around me lately, did I make you upset somehow?"

"N-no, it's entirely a me problem…" He looked off into the distance, then shook his head. "It isn't something you need to worry about."

"You sure? You know you can talk to me."

He nodded. "I'm positive. Nothing's wrong, I promise. I'll… sort it out eventually." 

It was really funny when she thought about it. When it came to giving advice with relationships and the like, Orik was excellent. Even if he hadn't been in a relationship himself (that she knew of) he had a solid grasp on what made one work well. When it came to acting on his own advice, though? He was _terrible_ at it. 

She considered asking him for advice, framing it as a hypothetical and seeing how long it took for him to realize she was talking about him. Would he even catch on? What if he assumed she actually _was_ talking about another person and not him? She could see him backing off entirely with her; she knew he didn't like stepping on anyone's feet.

What if putting him on the spot like that, even if no one was around, just made him too anxious and he began avoiding her entirely? He was clearly nervous enough about this as it was.

Sure, the incident in the canteen was really funny (and weirdly adorable, she had to admit), but she didn't want to overwhelm him or make him genuinely uncomfortable. 

"Well, if you ever decide you do want to talk about it, I'll be here to listen." She reached out and put a hand on his knee as she spoke. She got a small smile in response, it was so sweet.

For now, Umeko decided to wait until he was ready to confess his own feelings, to go at a pace he could handle.

"I think I'll go now," Umeko said as she stood back up. "I liked visiting, though."

"It was nice…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm 21 and don't know what flirting is


	3. And I Get the Feeling That You Love Me Too

There he was, sitting on that little dock again and looking out at the water. On one hand, this was part of his normal routine so she wasn't surprised. On the other hand though, he'd been acting increasingly erratic for the past week and she wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't been there.

"Orik, I want to talk to you about something."

Fighting his nerves, he looked up at her. "Yes…?"

She sat down next to him, her feet dangling off the dock. "You've been acting weirder than ever around me for the past week."

"Weirder…? I have?"

"Yes! You've been darting around whenever I see you… at first I thought you were busy but according to the others it's only when I'm around."

"Um…."

"I'm worried I said something and made you upset last week," she said. "I _like_ being with you, I enjoy hanging out and talking to you a lot. I'd hate to say something and push you away on accident."

"It isn't that..." It was clearly something he was worked up over, though, she could see all the steam leaving his pipe.

"Am I making it worse by being here right now? Maybe I should go…" Now she was worried she was driving him away by being too pushy...

"No, no, it isn't that at all! I-I like being around you too!" He looked down at the water. "It's just…" And then his words fizzled out like the stream of steam, to his frustration. The intensity of his feelings only grew stronger, a pressure building in his chest. The fact he was holding his steam didn't help.

She tilted her head, silently encouraging him to continue.

 _Daisuki da._ That was the phrase that kept bouncing around in his head, it was a way to express love ("I really like you a lot," roughly), but that isn't something you do lightly. Especially for the first time.

….oh Algyron, did he actually just say those words _out loud_ to her? Judging by the surprised look on her face that was a yes. He must have mumbled it under his breath. Being that direct and verbal about your feelings was extremely uncommon where they were from, and while Umeko had lived in Alsydhia her whole life, her parents hadn't and she was still amply exposed to their culture. Context enough to know exactly what Orik just said and how _absurd_ it sounded. After all, they'd been swapping between English and Japanese intermittently this entire discussion...

If some god didn't strike him down for the social _faux pas_ , Orik was sure he was going to die from the embarrassment. His entire upper body was burning and he was pretty sure the sound of his pipe opening back up to vent steam had been not only audible but abnormally loud. Voicing his feelings had only made them grow stronger now, quickly rising to a level of panic. Despite there being no way out of this situation, he still tried anyway. "I'm sorry, I think I need to go now and, uh. Die?" 

"Orik, wait!" Umeko grabbed his hands and held them in her own to keep him from escaping. She was less shocked now, wanting to tell him what she felt before he fled the country or something. "I like you a lot, too. I was just waiting for you to say something first."

A pause while his overwhelmed brain processed this. "You knew?"

"It's been a rumor in the Temperance for months." That, Orik was well aware of. "...Also, Kotori told me."

"Of course she did," Orik muttered. Sometimes he wondered why he ever told her anything he wanted to keep secret. Sometimes it felt like his cousin existed only for chaos.

Seeing how wound up and tense Orik was, Umeko freed one of her hands and placed it on his shoulder in a quiet offer for a hug. He accepted without a second thought and held her back just as tight. He found himself surprised at how quickly it quieted the storm of emotions inside his chest and calmed him down.

"I wanted to be sure before I did anything. Also I didn't want to unnerve you either, I had a feeling you'd freak out if I came to you before you were ready." She ran her palm down his back soothingly. 

"I-- yeah," he agreed. "You know I haven't done this before…"

She looked down at her and his hands. "So… do you want me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yes. Being around you brightens my day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this thing has given me a newfound respect for slowburn writers. *lays face down*


End file.
